Spirited Hearts
by bluewhisper
Summary: After losing her parents Chihiro returns to the spirit world to find Haku in a mysterious way. Note: First story so any feedback is appreciated
1. Chapter 1: Friday

Chihiro ran home from school that afternoon, it was her 16th birthday and she had to get ready for the party. As she turned the last corner she screamed with delight at the brand new black BMW waiting in the driveway...

She busted in the front door expecting to see her relatives but only found three police officers looking through the house, it was then when she noticed that there was blood all over the floor. She ran over and knelt next to her parents lifeless bodies and began to cry, her tears falling onto her fathers blood-soaked shirt. A hand grabbed her shoulder and directed her to the living room; he signaled for her to sit down and began to explain what had happened.

"Your parents were killed..," The officer began "we think someone in the neighborhood may be responsible. While investigating the scene, we found that none of the locks in the house were forced so the killer must have had a key"

"Or..." interrupted the second officer "Your parents let them in the house."

"That is also a possibility" replied the first officer "But we are still investigating the scene of the crime, so nothing is certain at this point." And with that he got up and went back to continue the investigation.

"What's going to happen to me?" Chihiro asked quietly

"That's for the court to decide." He replied in a low voice.

Chihiro sat in the chair for a while, quietly weeping to herself, until she fell asleep.

Chihiro was woken by a hand gently shaking her shoulder.

"Miss Ogino would you like some dinner?" asked a kind voice.

Chihiro sat up and looked outside, it was pitch black, she then looked at the clock and discovered that it was 10pm.

"You've been asleep for about six hours" said another voice quietly

Chihiro rubbed her eyes and looked around her; in the dim light she could see the three officers.

"My name is Chihiro Ogino" she said politely, "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"My name is Aki Onuki" Began the first officer, who appeared to be quite young "I'm a homicide detective" Aki then showed Chihiro his badge.

"I'm Yori Mansai" said the next officer "I'm in charge of special victim cases" Yori also showed Chihiro his badge.

"I'm Sayuri Kokoro, also in homicide cases" Sayuri then flashed her badge. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?" she added.

"Well…" Chihiro began hesitantly "…Do you have any more clues to who killed my parents?"

Aki looked at Yori and Sayuri then back to Chihiro. He took a sip from his tea then she slowly opened his lips and told Chihiro what his thoughts were.

"There are currently two possible scenarios; the first one is that the killer was let into your house by your parents. This means that they either knew the person or it was a stranger who appeared to be trustworthy so they let him or her in."

"That's impossible!" interrupted Chihiro "That is why my parents built the verandah, so they could talk to strangers without them being let into the house."

"That's right" Yori said, "Which makes it much more likely that your parents knew the person."

"Exactly" agreed Aki, "The second scenario, is that the killer let themselves into the house with a key, or found a secret entrance to the house. To do this they must have known your house well, so they must have been here before or have stalked your family. But there's just one thing that doesn't fit in…" His voice trailed off.

"What's that?" Chihiro asked quietly.

"Well, we were just thinking **why** someone would kill your parents, I've known them for a long time and know for a fact that they are…I mean were lovely people. I just can't think of a reason why someone would want to kill them…." Sayuri sighed.

"Have something to eat," said Yori handing Chihiro a bowl of rice with chicken and vegetables.

Chihiro took the bowl and began to eat, the 3 officers started to talk and Chihiro just listened. By midnight everyone had fallen asleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Conscience

Chapter 2: _Conscience _

Chihiro woke the next morning to the sound of cars outside the house. She got up and peered out the window only to see black cars. She yawned and went to find Sayuri, Yori or Aki and hoped that one of them would explain. She found Sayuri making tea in the kitchen.

"Why are there all those cars in the street?" Chihiro asked

"We told your relatives what had happened, they're all coming now to pay their respects." Sayuri sadly explained.

"What did you tell them? Did you tell them my parents we're probably killed by someone they knew?!" Chihiro was beginning to panic; she knew that her extended family would be thinking it was one of her friends that did it. Sayuri looked at her suspiciously.

"What makes you worry so much?" questioned Sayuri "It's not like they'll think you're responsible."

"Well…my relatives' think that I hang out with the wrong crowd at school….just because I go to a public school they think I hang out with kids that have nothing better to do then drink and pop pills." Chihiro said trying to hide the anger in her voice "while their kids go out to parties every weekend and get drunk but Aunty Maji still thinks they're perfect little angels."

"Oh, I see" Sayuri calmly replied "Well maybe you should get dressed into something more appropriate before you go out to see your family."

Chihiro then looked at herself; she was still in her school uniform. She quickly ran upstairs to her room and went searching for some clothes. She pulled out a long black dress, and then she tore off her royal blue skirt and her white blouse and threw them in the corner. She changed into the dress and started to look for her black high heels; she found them and went to leave the room when she suddenly caught a glimpse of the mirror. She didn't see a 16 year old Chihiro, but a zombie like girl who hasn't slept in months; she grabbed her comb from the dresser and quickly neatened her hair and made her way downstairs. She opened the door to the living room and went to greet her grieving relatives.

"CHIHIRO!" Cried Aunt Maji "I'm so sorry!" she ran to hug Chihiro, and she then whispered in Chihiro's ear "If it was one of your friends I will personally make sure they are killed for what they have done, and that is a promise."

Chihiro escaped from her grasp and ran outside there in the corner of the backyard was her garden. She sat down next to the tiny pond and thought about what would become of her. The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a cloud to be seen, but today was the darkest day for Chihiro.

Aki had just finished explaining everything to yet another relative when he noticed Chihiro wasn't present. He looked everywhere downstairs and went to search upstairs; he was at the top of the staircase when he noticed a small figure in the backyard. He hurried downstairs and out the backdoor, and saw that Chihiro was crying. Aki slowly approached her and asked her what's wrong.

"What's going to happen to me?" She asked, still crying "Am I going to live with Aunty Maji? Please don't make me go there I will do anything not to go."

Aki sat beside her and let out a heavy sigh, he knew she wouldn't like what he had to say. He looked at her and saw her tear stained face.

"The court has decided… That you are to go into the care of Your Aunt and Uncle" Aki said sadly, knowing how much this would upset the teenage girl he had become so fond of.

Chihiro gritted her teeth and turned to the house. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but all she did was cry more. She knew that if she were to live with Aunty Maji she would never be truly happy again. She turned back to Aki and looked up at the dark haired officer.

"Don't make me go…" she pleaded "it won't do anyone any good…"

Aki knowing there was nothing he could do explained that she must go with them. Chihiro closed her eyes and thought about her life now that her parents were gone.

"What a lousy birthday..." she muttered under her breath.

Aki was about to say something when his cell phone began to ring. Chihiro listened and tried to make out what the conversation was about.

"Hello, Aki Onuki speaking" He answered "Oh hi mom…….No sorry I'm not gonna be able to come….yes I know I said I'd be able to but something came up ….Ok yes I'll ring you when I'm done….yes, love you too….Bye." He looked down at Chihiro and smiled "Sorry about that"

"What aren't you going to?" Chihiro asked.

"Oh well it's my birthday tomorrow so my mum was going to invite some people over..."

"Why can't you go?" questioned Chihiro, worried that it was her fault.

"Well this case is particularly difficult, so I'm staying 'til we solve it" Aki answered.

"Oh.." sighed Chihiro feeling guilty.. "How old are you turning?"

"Eighteen" replied Aki, he then frowned as he quietly added "I wish my dad was here today…"

"Did he..." Chihiro hesitated "…._die_?"

"No…" replied Aki as he faced Chihiro "He was murdered….My parents and I were walking to our car from a restaurant one night when a masked man came out of nowhere and took my mom down an alley and began to….." he paused "…_rape_ her. My dad ran after him and started to fight him, my mother escaped but when my dad tried to run to our car the masked man took a gun out and shot him in the back. The gunshot echoed through the empty streets and the masked killer ran. My mother and I ran beside dad and wept as he drew his last breath….. I became a police officer so I could stop things like that."

Chihiro said nothing, but started to cry. Aki immediately put his arms around her and gently sung a lullaby until the last tear rolled down her cheek. She lifted her head and looked around. She could hear her aunt from inside the house

"Chihiro, where are you? It's time to go" Aunty Maji called as she stumbled out the backdoor with a glass of wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other. "Chihiro! What are you doing out here?! We were meant to be gone 10 minutes ago!"

"She's drunk" Chihiro whispered as she grabbed Aki's hand. "Please don't make me go with her…"

Maji walked up to Chihiro and grabbed her free hand. Spilling wine everywhere she started to drag Chihiro towards the house, Chihiro tried to resist when suddenly Maji slapped her.

"Hurry up," She began "Your parents left you to my husband and I so you have to come with us!" and continued to pull her hand.

Aki glared at Maji and thought, _surely there must be something I can do to stop this….._ He suddenly leapt to his feet and chased Maji and Chihiro.

"Stop!" He shouted, once Maji had turned he began to execute his plan. "Sorry Mrs. Maji, but we must keep Chihiro here overnight, as we believe the will of her parents had been tampered with. She will remain in custody of the state until further notice." He took Chihiro's hand and lead her to the house.

"Thanks.." Chihiro sighed and squeezed Aki's hand.


	3. Chapter 3: The Escape

Chapter 3: _The escape_

As soon as they reached the house Chihiro ran upstairs to her room, grabbed a bag and started to pack. Aki followed her up and stared in astonishment as she threw things everywhere. When she was finally done she stood and stared out the window and thought for a while…._haku…I'm coming…._

"You're going to need another pair of shoes" Aki whispered as he handed her a box.

Chihiro looked at the big box wrapped in blue paper. There was a purple ribbon holding the lid on and a tag that said 'Happy Birthday Chihiro, love from Aki'. Chihiro stood there, still as a statue. It was Aki who broke the silence.

"Well…Aren't you going to open it?" said Aki with a smile on his face.

Chihiro opened it and found a pair of black converse's and a new necklace, screaming with joy she hugged him and thanked him for his kindness.

"Aki, please come with me" she said softly in his ear.

"Where will you go? How will you survive?" Aki was far too concerned for her safety to answer the question properly.

"I'm going to a place, where my closest friends are… and I want you to come" Chihiro answered.

Without giving Aki a moment to respond she grabbed her bag (which now had Aki's presents in there) and flung it onto her back she then took Aki's hand and dragged him downstairs and out the front door. She looked back to see if anyone noticed her escape all she saw was Sayuri and Yori waving through the Kitchen window. She ran; out of her street, past the school and into the forest that she walked through so many years ago. She kept running, and slowly the trees began to thin and shrines began to take their place. She suddenly stopped in front of a spirit's statue, behind that was the dark tunnel. Aki let go of Chihiro's hand and walked up to the entrance of the tunnel.

"What is this place?" He thought aloud.

Chihiro decided that she would have to explain eventually, and chose to tell Aki everything.

"About 6 years ago" She began "When my family moved into the house, we stumbled upon this place…."

About an hour later, Chihiro had finished telling her story. She was worried that Aki wasn't going to believe her, but all her doubts were gone when he grabbed her hand.

"What are we waiting for?" he asked, "Let's go!"

Aki pulled Chihiro into the tunnel and they both started to run. Chihiro lead the way to the bathhouse and squealed in delight when she smelt all the food.

"Don't forget, we can't eat the food or else we'll turn into pigs" she reminded Aki, who was smiling in delight.

The two sat on the steps, waiting until sunset for the spirit world to come to life.


	4. Chapter 4: Old Friend

"There it goes!!" cried Chihiro excitedly as she pointed at the setting sun.

The both looked around as the lanterns started to light up and spirits slowly started to appear.

"Quick! Follow me" Chihiro jumped to her feet and ran back towards the bathhouse, Aki followed as fast as he could. The both ran across the bridge and into a secret entrance, then down the rickety stairs. They stopped running and burst into laughter; Chihiro looked at the door in front of her and smiled. _It'll be nice to see Kamaji again _she thought to herself, she put her hand on the handle and opened the door slowly and they both walked in.

"Kamaji!" screamed Chihiro and ran up to give him a hug. "It's been so long!"

Kamaji turned around and saw Chihiro; a great big smile appeared underneath his moustache.

"Sen!" He cried and stretched his long arms out to hug her back. "How have you been?? Why didn't you come back until now?! Haku and Lin have been worried sick!"

"I'll explain everything later" promised Chihiro, she signaled Ski to come forward. "I hope its ok, but I've brought a friend this time. Kamaji…This is Aki Onuki, he helped me a great deal over the last few days..."

Kamaji looked at Aki with great interest, his many hands still for once. After a few minutes he broke the silence.

"Hmmm, very nice indeed" he said, and shook Aki's hand.

"Kamaji, where are Lin and Haku?" asked Chihiro. "Can I go find them?"

"No!" exclaimed Kamaji "Yubabba is still here, you mustn't be seen by anyone….Not until I contact Zaniba"

Both Aki and Chihiro nodded. Aki was about to say something when he noticed some things on the floor, like soot was moving around on the ground. He knelt down to get a better look and saw that they _were _little balls of soot, they looked up at him and then saw Chihiro and crowded her.

"Hey guys!" Chihiro said as she knelt down and patted some of them. "Still at work?"

"Sen, Aki...please sit down and tell me what has happened since the last time I saw you" said Kamaji as he pulled out some cushions from one of the many draws on the wall with one hand and made a pot of tea with another.

Kamaji listened as Chihiro told him of what had happened, and how she met Aki. She suddenly burst into tears at the thought of her parents, thinking about how she'd never seen them again, how she'd be all alone.

"Poor Sen," said Kamaji "yes your parents are gone, and of course you will miss them. But you are safe now ..."

"And with people who love you," Aki added, putting his arm around her.

After a meal of rice dumplings for dinner, Kamaji set up some beds for Chihiro and Aki. As they prepared to go to sleep Kamaji told the two of what had been happening in the bathhouse over the years.

"And now Boh works with Zeniba!" joked Kamaji. "But now it is time to sleep, you will see Lin in the morning." Two of his hands each pulled a blanket over Chihiro and Aki, and then he himself went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5:Lin

Chihiro woke that morning to find a new set of clothes next to her bed, she picked them up and looked at the rose pink shirt and realized it was the same one she had worn so many years ago. She looked at Aki and Kamaji who both were still sleeping. She got up and decided to change into the new clothes to help disguise her scent. She thought she might be recognized so she let her hair loose and rubbed soot through it to turn it black. She grabbed a mirror from her bag and looked at herself, she no longer looked like Chihiro and that was her plan. She was thinking of other ways to disguise herself when she heard a door slide open.

"Kama….SEN!" squealed Lin, dropping the breakfast she had prepared for the boiler man she ran over and embraced Chihiro. "What have you done to your hair?!" she asked "More importantly what has happened?!"

"Well…" Chihiro began "Quite a lot actually..."

Chihiro then explained the whole story, and after what seemed like forever Kamaji woke up and began his work for the day. The three friends began to talk forgetting that Aki was there, that is until he rolled over in his sleep.

"He's kinda cute" Lin whispered to Chihiro, both the girls went into a fit of giggles which woke Aki.

"Good morning" said Chihiro with a giant grin on her face, "How did you sleep?"

"Very well thanks," replied Aki with a yawn as he got out of bed. "So what are we doing today?"

Lin was about to say something but was interrupted by a loud ringing bell.

DONG…..DONG……DONG…..

"Working!" answered Kamaji.

"But first you need disguises" said Lin "_proper_ disguises" and with this she smiled at Chihiro. "Sen, I'll fix you first so Aki has a chance to have something to eat" she continued as she dragged Chihiro to a different room.

Lin began by rubbing Chihiro's clothes in various herbs to cover her human scent, she then pinned her hair up which made her look about twenty. Next Lin rubbed an orange cream into her skin to make her look tanned.

"There!" said Lin proudly "It's nothing great….but it will work. Now for Aki."

Lin flashed Aki a flirtatious smile as he entered the room. She gave him a set of clothes to change into.

"You won't need much of a disguise since you haven't been here before," Lin explained "But I'll try to make it so people don't know you're a human"

After several minutes Aki's disguise was complete and he, Lin and Chihiro left to find work upstairs. They were eventually on the ground floor where all the spirits entered the bath house.

"Sen you'll be working with me in the tubs again, Aki I think you'll be with someone in the kitchen but hopefully I can make some arrangements so you're with me." Lin said as she led the way to the baths. "Kenkaro!" She called to one of the other workers "Let Buta know I'm taking the big tub today!" she winked at Chihiro.

Chihiro smiled as she remembered the river spirit that had come while she and Lin were in charge of the big tub. She looked up expecting to see the filthy tub she was once told to clean but instead saw a beautiful bath made of porcelain. She stared at it amazed.

"Things changed while you were gone Sen" Lin whispered softly.

"So what do we do?" Aki asked carefully.

"Well, we wait until we have a client who needs the tub." Answered Lin "Until then we clean." She handed Aki and Chihiro clothes to clean the floor with while she cleaned the tub to make sure it stayed sparkling white.

They spent the whole morning cleaning and Lin went to get them lunch. She returned with three steaming bowls of noodles and a teapot with three cups. After the short lunch the three continued with their work. Both Aki and Chihiro had settled in well and were finding the work tiring but easy, all three were grateful when their shifts were over and they were able to stop working for the night.

"Lin, where is Haku?" questioned Chihiro as the three of them walked back to the boiler room.

Lin sighed; she knew that Sen would eventually ask where her love was. She didn't have the heart to tell Sen what had happened after she left but knew that she would have to eventually.

"He's around" she responded after a few minutes of silence. "But now it's time for you to go see Zaniba"


	6. Chapter 6: Secrets

Chihiro smiled to herself when she though about Zaniba, or 'Granny' as she liked to be called. She suddenly remembered No Face, a spirit whom she became friends with while working in the bathhouse.

"How will we get there?" Chihiro asked Lin. "Will we be catching the train?"

"Yes," she replied "Kamaji managed to get his hands on some tickets…we better get moving or else we'll miss the train."

Chihiro, Lin and Aki hurried to the boiler room to get the tickets of Kamaji, who gave each of them a ticket. They were almost out the door when Kamaji called out to them.

"Remember," He said with a twinkle in his eye "The train only goes one way"

Chihiro grinned ear to ear and lead the way to the railroad track; the three of them sat on the platform and waited for the train to pull in. The sun was starting to set when Chihiro heard the noise of the train in the distance, as they got on the train she looked at the shadows sitting in their seats and remembered the night many years ago when she first met Zaniba. She leaned back and closed her eyes for several minutes and listened to the gentle noise of the train. She was about to sit up when Lin broke the silence.

"She looks so peaceful" she whispered softly

"She deserves some peace, after everything she's been through these last few days" Aki slowly replied.

"It's good that she had some friends in the human world" continued Lin, looking into Aki's eyes.

"Well, I find it hard to leave her..." Aki replied "She reminds me of my younger sister…." Aki lifted his hand to wipe away a tear that appeared in his eye.

"What's wrong?" asked Lin, extremely concerned for her new friend she put her hand in his to comfort him.

"My sister died about 7 years ago… it was her ninth birthday so we went by the river to fly the kite our parents had given her….." Aki paused as the train stopped at the first station. The doors closed and Aki sighed before he continued. "She accidentally let go of the string and it flew up and over the river… Suki ran after it…." Aki paused again to dry the tears that were flowing from his eyes "She fell into the river and became tangled in the debris that was at the bottom….I swam in to save her…but the water was so dark I couldn't see a thing… I tried… I really did…" He was looking deep into Lin's eyes almost as if he were begging for forgiveness. "I sat there till dark…hoping that she would somehow survive… the moon was bright when my parents found me sitting on the side of the river, we left….and I haven't been back there since…" He closed his eyes and a tear rolled off his cheek and landed on their entwined hands.

"What river was it?" Lin asked cautiously, still embracing his hand.

"The Kohaku" replied Aki is a broken whisper.

Chihiro was shocked; she looked out the window attempting to hide her tears. The doors opened at the second station to reveal a dark and rainy horizon. Chihiro spent some time thinking about how cruel life could be; by the time the doors had shut once more she was fast asleep.

"I had a sister too..." said Lin after a long silence "She was turned into a pig after eating the spirit food….I tried to bargain with Yubabba …I gave all my jewelry, but she refused to change her back. She said to me 'Work here and I will consider setting her free' I accepted the offer and was to work under what I'm called now…about a month later I found out that they fed Misa to one of the richer spirits. I was furious! I just wanted to kill Yubabba…the greedy witch…." Lin was shaking with fury. Aki looked at her.

"Why didn't you escape?" he asked innocently. "I know that they killed your sister, but they could have killed you at any point! Why didn't you run back to your old world?"

"Because…. I can't remember my name…" replied Lin in a quiet voice. "If I did I would've ran back…to my home…to my parents" She put her head in her hands and bust into tears, Aki put one of his arms around her.

"It's ok, I'm here to take care of you" he cooed in her ear, using his free hand to tilt her chin up he then kissed her softly.

**A/N**:**I won't write the next chapter until after my exams, so anyone who's interested in what happens next will have to wait....sorry! **


	7. Chapter 7: Dreams

**Thanks to BrokenWish and Snowcloud for the reviews!**

**This chapter is about Lin, but i'll try to bring Haku into the next chapter. Sorry if this isn't very good but i just had my exams so I've been busy and I'm considering a different ending to the story now. Please review it, especially if you dont like it so i know what to fix! And i'm currently thinking of more characters to add to the story so if you have any suggestions please let me know!**

Chapter 7: _Dreams_

The doors opened at the third station and a few of the shadows left the train, the doors slammed shut and Chihiro woke up. She looked up to see Lin and Aki in each others arms, not wanting to embarrass them she faked a loud yawn and sat up fast. Lin and Aki quickly released each other and moved so that there was a seat in between them, Chihiro decided to pretend nothing happened.

"Are we at Swamp Bottom yet?" Chihiro asked the two.

"Not yet…" Aki replied as he wiped some lipstick off his face "We have about 3 stops left."

"But it won't take long" Lin added with a smile.

Chihiro returned the smile then turned to the window with a sigh. _Where are you Haku?_ She thought. _Why did you leave? _She closed her eyes as if she were expecting someone to answer her, but all that could be heard was the rain pouring against the window.

A cool breeze blew through an open window and all three of them shivered, Aki pulled a blanket out from his pack and used it to cover the three of them and as the train gently rocked on the tracks the three of them soon were asleep.

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_LINS DREAM:_

"Hurry up!" she calls to me.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I call back as I run after her.

"Oh a restaurant!" She called in surprise. "Come have some chicken…it's delicious!"

"Suki!! Don't it's not ours!" I cried as I caught up to her. "We'll find someone and ask if we can have some…"

"Right" she says and puts down what remained of the chicken wing. "But there's no one else here…"

We looked around the miniature marketplace for any signs of life, but only saw empty seats and lightless lanterns. I walked around the plaza and noticed that the sun was beginning to set.

"Come on Suki, we better get home before mum starts to worry." I said as I began to walk back home.

"Ok…" said Suki "Hey WAIT! Check this out!" she held up some flowers she found on the ground "I bet mum would love this…it smells just like mint!" She looked to find where they had come from, and immediately ran off into the distance. "There are MILLIONS of them out here!!! Help me carry some!!!"

"Fine" I said as I rolled my eyes. "But then we have to go home." I ran after her and found myself in a field of flowers that smelt exactly like mint. "mmmmm" I said to myself as I picked up an armful.

"They are so pretty" Suki said with a smile on her face "And look how they glitter in the sunset.

I took another look at the flowers and was astonished when I saw that they sparkled like the moon on water.

"Wow" I said quietly "Its… It's beautiful…." I sat there in the flowers watching the sun set over the hill, after what seemed like hours I got up to go.

"Suki let's go.." I turned to my younger sister and gasped in horror to find she had turned into large greasy pig. "SUKI?!" I sceamed "What's happened to you?!?!" I began to panic and all that came from Suki were oinks and grunts. _There must be someone who can help…_I thought to myself. "Suki stay here!" I cried, hoping she would understand. I ran back the restaurant and now found it full of shadows. "Help!" I cried but no one took notice of me.

I ran all through the shops looking for someone to help me but finished unsuccessfully, _If there was anyone that could help me they'd be in there_ I thought as I saw a giant bath house which towered over all the stalls. I ran across the bridge, not even pausing for air and began to run up the stairs, I was about half way up when I fell through..almost as if I were a ghost.

"Well!" cried a surprised old man "Look what we have here!"

I tried to stand up and run but I couldn't, all I could do was watch as eight arms flew over to grab me. I closed my eyes as they reached around my waist but after several minutes I opened them to find that the hands went right through me.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked, half afraid of the answer.

"You have to eat something fast!" said the strange man behind his moustache. One of his many hands forced some small berries into my mouth. "Now swallow" he said in a gruff voice.

I swallowed the berries and immediately stood up, the stranger looked at me with curious eyes. I took a step backwards in case I needed to escape, but one of his hands reached around me and pulled me towards him.

"What is your name?" he said in an unfathomable tone. I looked up at the old man and opened my mouth…

"My name is Osanya" I said in a quiet voice.

"And you came here to save your sister, correct?"

"Yes, she's in the field to the east of the marketplace" I said, confident that the man had a pure heart.

"I cannot change her back," He said with a sigh. "I know who can….but it'll cost you…"

"How much?" I asked as I searched for anything of value.

"Your life." He replied after a short amount of time.

"I'll do it." I said, determined to do whatever it took to save Suki.

The boiler man put his hand to my forehead and showed me how to get to Yubbaba's office; she was the only one who had the power to change Suki back to her human form. I ran through hidden passageways until I managed to get to an elevator which took me straight there. I looked at the jewel encrusted door knob and went to turn it. As I opened the door a voice echoed down the long hall.

"Welcome Osanya, I know what you want…"

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"LIN!" Chihiro called as she shook me awake. "We're here!"

**Thanks for reading, please review? ^-^**


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